Conventional fixed trailer hitches necessitate a second person to guide the driver or a certain amount of trial and error to ensure that the hitch is in proximity to the trailer's socket for subsequent manual connection.
Prior art swiveling trailer hitches, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,293,791 issued Nov. 13, 2007 to Williams; and U.S. Pat. No. 7,338,062 issued Mar. 4, 2008 to Violette et al, and in United States Patent Applications Nos. 2011/0101645 published May 5, 2011 to Williams et al, and 2011/0221164 published Sep. 15, 2011 to Williams et al, provide telescoping and swiveling trailer hitches that facilitate the connection of the trailer hitch with the trailer socket. Unfortunately, the prior art devices are pivotable only in an extended position, and require that the driver drive forward first then back up the vehicle a precise amount to set the hitch in the locked position.
An object of the present invention is to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art by providing a rotating and translating trailer hitch that is adjustable in a retracted position, and automatically lockable when the trailer hitch is pulled into an extended position, as the vehicle pulls away, making the hitching process much easier for the driver to perform alone.